Dr. Clyde Renner, world renowned expert on volcanoes and earthquakes, professor and chair of the geology department at a small liberal arts college in Iowa, is dead, apparently of a heart attack, alone in his insect-infested house. Leonard Branch, campus cop, is convinced there's more to Renner's demise than appears on the death certificate. Gideon Marshall, paleontologist, now acting chair, plays host to a parade of characters, including Renner's bullied secretary and accountant, a belligerent female prof, an untenured young scientist and his hot-headed coed paramour, the coed's wealthy helicopter parent, Renner's estranged gay son and his computer geek husband, and the college president. All are involved in various ways with Clyde Renner's "distinguished" career and all have a stake in the autopsy results. In the end, Marshall accepts the fact that he's probably discovered not only a perfect murder, but also the ideal weapons of mass destruction.